1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to the field of testing information handling systems, and more particularly to a method and system for automated and distributed information handling system test.
2. Description of the Related Art
As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
The wide variety of hardware and software components available for use in information handling systems often presents manufacturers of information handling systems with a substantial challenge in ensuring the compatibility of components assembled in given information handling system configurations. As new or upgraded components become available, manufacturers typically test the interoperability of the components with existing components to confirm correct operations of information handling systems before commercial manufacture of the systems. For instance, tester software engines create test executables that operate on test information handling systems either directly or through an associated runtime to ensure compatibility of components, such as with repeated performance of common operations. These test executables often operate on individual test information handling systems through test engine specific runtimes, such as runtimes operating in Java, Visual Basic, Rational Visual Test, Win-Runner and Silk Test.
Although conventional information handling system testing engines are generally collectively able to confirm an information handling system configuration's proper operation, each testing engine typically has proprietary interfaces for managing, storing and executing individual tests on targeted systems so that the benefits of the various test automation platforms are not available for unified use. Thus, existing testing engines generally do not interact so that a given test for a given testing engine generally is not leveraged across different testing organizations or in different testing platforms. The lack of integration across testing engines makes the compilation and tracking of test data more difficult and reduces the ability to leverage test findings against overall test plan metrics, such as the execution of a test executable for a variety of testing engines on the same or similar test information handling systems. Test engineers face a substantial challenge in running appropriate tests and maintaining test executables and runtimes operating with current revisions. Thus, scripts for testing given information handling system configurations often are not reusable for the validation of other configurations. Further, scripts are run on individual information handling systems, not simultaneously. In the event of errors, the information handling system and test runtimes typically are incapable of recovery, instead requiring test engineer interaction to reinitiate test operations.